Beneath the surface of many urban areas lies a web of infrastructure including water, power, and gas utilities; transportation networks such as highways and subways; building foundations; and underground structures that accommodate residences or businesses. And the complexity of the underground system is increasing.

UNDERGROUND ENGINEERING FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT, a new report from the National Research Council, examines how urban planning could take acoordinated,systematic account of the space both above and beneath Earth's surface, provides direction for future research that supports underground engineering, and examines drivers that promote or inhibit such development.

Advance copies will be available to reporters only starting at 3 p.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 27. The report is embargoed and not for public release before 11 a.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 28. To obtain an embargoed copy, contact the National Academies' Office of News and Public Information; tel. 202-334-2138 or e-mail news@nas.edu. More information about the project can be found at http://www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/projectview.aspx?key=49215.